Muhammad Isa,
Ja-yi shuma khali khwahad bud!
Yes, we know about the work being done in the BL on this but many thanks for
the update. I guess that if we decide to do anything on this (and it
probably too late to have much impact) it would be to back them up with some
regional imput - after all our region would be in the middle of any such
crazy legislation.
Is the Chairman of your Board really called Lord Eatwell? It sounds too
Dickensian to be true.
Unfortunately it looks as if there will be no BL representation unless
Ursula is coming along.
Anything to report on the Turko-Iranian front in the BL?
Peter
-----Original Message-----
From: Middle Eastern and Islamic Library Collections and Bibliography
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Waley, MuhammadIsa
Sent: 10 January 2006 16:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 74th Meeting of MELCOM UK - Durham Summer 2005
Peter
I have been expecting to attend MELCOM tomorrow - from 2 onwards - but it
now looks as though I shall unfortunately have to miss it because of having
to go up north to attend court as a witness. In which case, I send my
apologies and regrets.
A propos the item on proposed anti-terrorism legislation and its possible
impact on libraries, we would like to call the meeting's attention to the
fact that the British Library - and especially Clive Field, Director of
Scholarship and Collections, and Lord Eatwell, Chairman of the BL Board - is
involved in work on the problem. I append below a piece from the BL
Intranet.
All the best
Muhammad Isa
Terrorism Bill and Libraries: Update
You may be aware of the media coverage in recent weeks regarding the
government's failure to introduce a 90-day detention period for terrorist
suspects as part of the legislation that it has put before parliament.
However, no amendments were made in the House of Commons to the Bill that
would satisfy the British Library's grave concerns with the legislation. To
recap, these concerns cover the dissemination of terrorist publications, and
in view of the wide and uncertain definition of what may constitute a
terrorist publication, librarians and their governing bodies/institutions
could be at risk of prosecution as the legislation currently stands.
The Bill has since passed into the Lords, where the British Library along
with the broader library and academic communities, has already secured some
considerable support for its cause, as can be seen from the lengthy debate
at second reading on the 22 November (a copy of which is available here).
The Chairman, Lord Eatwell, made a substantive speech on this occasion,
pointing out the risks for us and proposing a number of amendments to the
Bill.
Other notable points to arise from the debate included concerns regarding
the uncertain definitions of 'terrorist publications' and the fear that
library employees would have to prove their innocence of charges regarding
the dissemination of such publications. A number of peers also expressed
concern that the legislation, as it stands, would undermine academic
freedoms and further erode our ability to understand the terrorist threat
and respond to it accordingly.
The British library continues to work with government and members of both
Houses of Parliament in an effort to ensure that our concerns are addressed
appropriately. We will inform British Library staff of any substantive
developments. Any queries should be referred to myself, Clive Field, James
O'Leary or Andy Stephens. Meanwhile, you will find the text of the bill on
the United Kingdom Parliament website.
Colin Walker
External Affairs Officer
28/11/05
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